Health Reform Programs

Health Care Quality Measures - Adopted Rule - December 28, 2009

Minnesota Statutes 62U.02 requires the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to establish a standardized set of quality measures for health care providers across the state and to produce an annual report on health care quality. A subset of the standardized set of quality measures will be used for public reporting purposes.

To implement the collection of quality measurement data, MDH has developed the Minnesota Statewide Quality Reporting and Measurement System, created through Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4654. This rule compels physician clinics and hospitals to submit data on a set of quality measures to be publicly reported and also establishes a broader standardized set of quality measures for health care providers across the state. MDH will collect data on those measures to be publicly reported, while health plans may only require providers to submit data on those measures that are part of the standardized set.

Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4654, Permanent Rules Relating to Health Care Quality Measures, was approved by the Office of Administrative Hearings on December 7, 2009, and published in the December 28, 2009 edition of the State Register.

The adopted rule and the final version of the appendices are available for download below.

Variances

Minnesota Rule 4654.0700 provides discretionary authority for the Commissioner of Health to grant variances to a data submitter for a reported quality measure collection or submission specification if the data submitter demonstrates good cause.

Standardized Quality Measure Recommendations

Minnesota Statutes 62U.02 requires the Commissioner of Health to establish a standardized set of quality measures for health care providers across the state. The Commissioner of Health established these measures in Minnesota Rules, chapter 4654, and is required to review them on an annual basis. MDH invites interested stakeholders to submit recommendations on the addition, removal, or modification of standardized quality measures to MDH by June 1 of each year. The Commissioner will take these recommendations into consideration in determining what changes should be made to the Statewide Quality Reporting and Measurement System.

Recommendations must address how addition, removal, or modification of a quality measure relates to one or more of the following criteria:

The magnitude of the individual and societal burden imposed by the clinical condition being measured by the quality measure, including disability, mortality, and economic costs;

The extent of the gap between current practices and evidence-based practices for the clinical condition being measured by the quality measure, and the likelihood that the gap can be closed and conditions improved through changes in clinical processes;

The relevance of the quality measure to a broad range of individuals with regard to:

(1) age, gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity;
(2) the ability to generalize quality improvement strategies across the spectrum of health care conditions; and
(3) the capacity for change across a range of health care settings and providers;

The extent to which the quality measure has either been developed or accepted, or approved through a national consensus effort;

The extent to which the results of the quality measure are likely to demonstrate a wide degree of variation across providers; and

The extent to which the quality measure is valid and reliable.

Recommendations must be submitted to the Minnesota Department of Health at health.reform@state.mn.us by 4:30 p.m. on June 1, 2010, to be considered.